Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Some 30,000 people have signed the Uplift petition calling on the Government to extend maternity leave by three months. Like many, Government Deputies here tonight have signed it too. The Fine Gael leader in the Seanad, Senator Regina Doherty, has in the last week confirmed to the Taoiseach that the Seanad stands ready and waiting to implement this extension. It is now time to do the right thing and extend maternity leave by three months with the possibility of an extension in November if the pandemic is ongoing.

We have had emails from parents telling us of the challenges they have faced in giving birth in the middle of a global pandemic. Mothers have faced unique challenges during their maternity leave. They struggle without the usual supports including family support, cancelled prenatal appointments and reduced visits from the public health nurse all because of Covid-19. Babies were born without fathers present and in some cases fathers held their baby for the first time when they were being brought home. Many mothers are now approaching the end date of their maternity leave and have no-one to mind their baby. Grandparents are cocooning. Some crèches have not reopened. Some have opened with reduced capacity while others are no longer taking new clients.

Many mothers have described the stress they have been under during their maternity leave. Some have been on their own at home while their partners go to work and this has been particularly challenging for new mothers. Recent studies have shown that post-natal depression has tripled since the beginning of the pandemic. The stress of dealing with a new baby, coupled with the stress of a strain on family finance and the worry about the health of a loved one, is already a lot to deal with. On top of this, they have the worry of returning to work and putting their family at risk. Mothers with other children of school-going age have had to juggle a newborn while home-schooling.

Yesterday evening at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, announced that as part of budget 2021 an additional three weeks for parents leave would be examined. The Minister referred to this as the Government's response to the Sinn Féin motion despite the fact it will do nothing to actually address the issue. It is a slap in the face to tens of thousands of mothers who have fought over the last number of months to provide a semblance of normality to their newborns. This move was already promised in the programme for Government and does nothing to address the present challenges. It does not go far enough and families deserve better. I ask that all Government Deputies, in particular, listen to their constituents and do the right thing in supporting this motion.

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